“Night dreams of Day, and Light dreams of Darkness.”
A groundbreaking technological advancement called the “DC Mini” aims to enable revolutionary treatments by directly interacting with patients’ dreams. However test patient Detective Toshimi Konakawa and Doctor Atsuko Chiba are caught up in much more than an experiment when the DC Mini is stolen.
Satoshi Kon’s four movies are all excellent and form a collection of extremely diverse, impactful tales, and his final film is perhaps the most ambitious of them all. I recently had an opportunity to revisit Paprika in 35mm glory thanks to a special 1oth Anniversary screening at Japan Society. It was such a treat to see this glorious assault on the senses in that form.
Paprika feels different in emotional resonance from Kon’s other films, perhaps due to it being an adaptation instead of original work. The characters are interesting and carry the story well, but don’t have quite the depth of those in Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers (although both Konakawa and the titular heroine do face some nice introspection and growth at points).
Here the events and action are spotlit somewhat more, with a constant barrage of weird happenings that manage to be both zany and creepy at every step. The visuals are absolutely incredible, with vivid colors and wild, semi-abstract images pouring all over the screen.
But the genius is that there is always a framework, with repeated dream images and themes and limits to how abstract things get, as well as equally impressive environments and attention to the art during the quiet moments. It all comes together to ensure the story can always be tracked and suspense can build. There are several beautifully executed moments that are just breathtaking.
Elevating all I’ve mentioned even further is a phenomenal score that blends seamlessly and unobtrusively accentuates the action as well as the emotional undercurrents of each scene. Pieces of music from the movie have been stuck in my head for days, which in this case I have no objections to. 😉
One last thing I’ll mention is the plethora of delightful references and Easter eggs strewn throughout, from fun characters and costumes donned by Parprika in the dream sequences to amusing nods to Kon’s other films. Filmmaking is a theme as prevalent in Paprika as the meaning of dreams is, and excellent use is made of both for both story gravity and added layers of fun.
There’s disagreement over whether Paprika quite reaches the heights of Kon’s other movies, but either way it is a wonderful experience in its own right. Strap in for the ride, and enjoy the trippy, wild visual feast.
Derailments of Thought 